Quality of care assessment is one of the ways of evaluating what the health system is providing and can allow monitoring and evaluation exercises to track progress and identify gaps. Such monitoring however depends on an ability to measure quality with the availability of high quality data being... Read more

Quality of care assessment is one of the ways of evaluating what the health system is providing and can allow monitoring and evaluation exercises to track progress and identify gaps. Such monitoring however depends on an ability to measure quality with the availability of high quality data being central to these assessments. In low-resource settings routine health or hospital information system data are very limited, often of poor quality, and are typically summarized (e.g. total cases per ward) before being entered into the national health information system database. Such routine data very rarely include any information on a patient’s clinical findings or treatment. Thus at present routine data that are collected do not provide for individual patient level analyses of the process of care. This work is from a group of studies that seek to demonstrate how case record data may be used to evaluate quality of care in routine hospital settings in Kenya and by doing this promote the availability of quality data and its effective use as one means to promote improvement in services provided in Kenyan hospitals. This work provides important insights into whether hospitalized children and newborns are receiving the correct care are using process of care assessments conducted in relatively large numbers of cases, across multiple locations and across time. We apply more advanced statistical methods including hierarchical modelling, propensity scores and multiple imputation as some of the approaches of getting the most from routine data.
About the Speaker: David is a research officer with Health Systems Research Group (HSRG) at KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme Nairobi. He studied Bsc. Nursing at Moi University Kenya and holds a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is currently a PhD student, registered at the University of Amsterdam. Since joining KEMRI/Wellcome Trust Research Programme in August 2008, his research work has spanned a range of disciplines including, clinical trials, evaluation of quality of care within hospitals and exploration of the application of various statistical methods (propensity score analysis, multi-level models and statistical process control) to routine data. David also hold different responsibilities including being an executive member of the International Epidemiology Association-Kenyan Chapter and in 2015 he was co-opted into the national Ministry of Health technical working group on Monitoring and Evaluation. David has broad interests’ health informatics and its integration with epidemiology to monitor disease trends, interventions effects, identify quality of care gaps and the use of this data for effective decision making.

Audience: Members of the University only

Organisers: Francois Van Loggerenberg

When arriving and leaving the building please use the marked pedestrian route, and not the road, due the building works.

Professor Ashutosh Tewari

Ashutosh (Ash) K. Tewari is a world-renowned urologist and prostate cancer specialist. As Director of the Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, he leads a multidisciplinary team committed to improving prostate cancer treatment, research and education. To... Read more

Ashutosh (Ash) K. Tewari is a world-renowned urologist and prostate cancer specialist. As Director of the Department of Urology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, he leads a multidisciplinary team committed to improving prostate cancer treatment, research and education. To date, he has performed over 5,000 robotic radical prostatectomy surgeries. The Tewari Lab is working on unlocking the genomic causes of prostate cancer and translating genomic information to practical physician application through imaging. In 2012, he was awarded the American Urological Association’s Gold Cystoscope Award. This honor is given annually to the urologist who has contributed significantly to the field within 10 years of completing residency. Dr Tewari holds several leadership positions domestically and internationally.

Prof. Harvey Lodish

ALL WELCOME
Harvey Lodish is a world-expert in haematopoiesis, particularly focusing on red blood cell development. A major focus is identifying genes and extracellular signals that regulate the self- renewal, proliferation, and differentiation of early erythroid progenitor cells; extracellular... Read more

ALL WELCOME
Harvey Lodish is a world-expert in haematopoiesis, particularly focusing on red blood cell development. A major focus is identifying genes and extracellular signals that regulate the self- renewal, proliferation, and differentiation of early erythroid progenitor cells; extracellular signals include activators of the glucocorticoid and PPAR receptors and oxygen. This work has led to the characterization of several molecules, including six that are FDA-approved drugs for other indications that show great promise as therapeutics for bone marrow failure disorders and erythropoietin- resistant anemias. This research involves extensive computational analyses of large datasets of gene expression profiles and chromatin modifications generated from cells at different stages of human and mouse red cell development.

Professor Mauro Perretti

The process of acute inflammation relies on the active engagement of a series of pro-resolving mediators which assure temporal and spatial containment of the host reaction: a pro-inflammatory phase is followed by an anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving phase in line with “the beginning programmes... Read more

The process of acute inflammation relies on the active engagement of a series of pro-resolving mediators which assure temporal and spatial containment of the host reaction: a pro-inflammatory phase is followed by an anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving phase in line with “the beginning programmes the end” concept. Within the network of pro-resolving mediators is emerging a pattern of biological properties, shared by a variety of players, rendering specific actions paradigmatic (e.g. promotion of efferocytosis). Harnessing endogenous homeostatic pathways can lead to innovative anti-inflammatory therapeutics with beneficial applications for chronic inflammatory pathologies.
Within this area of investigation, Lipoxin A4 and Annexin A1 are two players able to halt leukocyte migration and promote macrophage phagocytosis of infective agents as well as apoptotic leukocytes. These effects are mediated by a specific receptor, the formyl peptide receptor type 2 (the acronym FPR2/ALX is currently used to identify the human receptor). Generation of a colony of mice deficient in the mouse orthologues of FPR2/ALX is helping elucidate the patho-physiological impact of this receptor (and its agonists) in acute inflammation providing, at the same time, proof-of-concept data for its exploitation in drug discovery programmes.
Supported by the Wellcome Trust (programme programme 086867/Z/08)

B-cell receptor (BCR) survival signals are central to pathogenesis of certain Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphomas (DLBCLs). Among transcriptionally-defined groups of DLBCL, the “OxPhos” subset displays increased expression of genes involved in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation but lacks an intact BCR signaling network, suggesting dependence on alternative survival mechanisms. We have conducted an integrative analysis using proteomics, mitochondrial respirometry and metabolomics that has unraveled previously unappreciated metabolic distinctions and subtype-specific quantitative differences in the DLBCL metabolome. We show that compared with BCR-dependent DLBCLs, nutrient and energy metabolism in OxPhos-DLBCL have a significant mitochondrial component marked by elevated mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) activity, increased mitochondrial ATP production, greater incorporation of fatty acid- and glucose-derived carbons into the TCA cycle, and increased lipogenesis from these carbon substrates. In comparison, the “non-OxPhos” DLBCLs have greater glycolytic flux typical of the Warburg phenotype. These findings provide a clear example of heterogeneity in fuel utilization pathways even within the same disease entity. Importantly, the distinct metabolic fingerprints we have identified are associated with survival mechanisms and predictable metabolic vulnerabilities that segregate with the presence/absence of functional BCR signaling. We show mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and glutathione synthesis are distinct metabolic features of OxPhos-DLBCLs selectively required for their survival. Metabolic signatures may provide important insights into the molecular heterogeneity of DLBCL and reveal rational targets in these lymphomas.

Howard C. Berg

Much is known about the motile behavior of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Early work on tracking E. coli and learning about its biased random walk was followed by the realization that bacterial flagella rotate rather than wave or beat. Flagellar rotation is controlled by chemoreceptors at the cell... Read more

Much is known about the motile behavior of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Early work on tracking E. coli and learning about its biased random walk was followed by the realization that bacterial flagella rotate rather than wave or beat. Flagellar rotation is controlled by chemoreceptors at the cell surface. Receptor methylation is required for adaptation on the second time scale, which enables cells to make temporal comparisons and swim up spatial gradients of attractants. Without methylation, one still observes partial adaptation, on the minute time scale, as motors remodel and shift their operating points. Motors also adapt to changes in viscous load. When the load suddenly increases, additional force-generating units are added one by one; thus, the flagellum is a mechanosensor as well as a device for generating thrust. Flagellar filaments grow at their distal ends at a rate that does not to depend upon initial lengths. Single-file diffusion appears to be adequate to get flagellin subunits from the base to the tip.

Dr Ignacio Moraga

Ignacio Moraga is currently a senior scientist in Prof. Christopher Garcia’s laboratory at Stanford University. Ignacio's work in Prof. Garcia's lab has focused on the fundamentals of cytokine receptor signaling and plasticity at a mechanistic level. Ignacio has combined advanced structural... Read more

Ignacio Moraga is currently a senior scientist in Prof. Christopher Garcia’s laboratory at Stanford University. Ignacio's work in Prof. Garcia's lab has focused on the fundamentals of cytokine receptor signaling and plasticity at a mechanistic level. Ignacio has combined advanced structural biology and protein engineering with cell biology to identify determinants that control plasticity and specificity of cytokine receptor signaling. In a work recently published in Cell, Ignacio unambiguously showed that specificity of cytokine receptor signaling can be systematically altered by modulating ligand-receptor binding geometries.
Prior to joining Prof. Garcia's lab, Ignacio earned his Ph.D. in Physiology and Physopathology from the University Paris 6 in 2009, working with Dr. Sandra Pellegrini at the Pasteur Institute. During his thesis work Ignacio showed that the nature of different biological activities elicited by cytokines that bind to the same cell surface receptor are regulated by receptor densities at the cell surface.
Ignacio earned his B.Sc. degree form the University Autonoma de Madrid in 2005.

Professor Avigdor Scherz

Cancer therapy has aimed for years at selective killing of the cancer cells. Understanding the significance of the tumor microenvironment and the crosstalk between cancer and non-cancer cells in the tumor niche has provoked increasing efforts to treat the tumor as an organ. We hypothesized that... Read more

Cancer therapy has aimed for years at selective killing of the cancer cells. Understanding the significance of the tumor microenvironment and the crosstalk between cancer and non-cancer cells in the tumor niche has provoked increasing efforts to treat the tumor as an organ. We hypothesized that tumor destruction can follow natural processes that lead to organ collapse in plants and animals. Using WST11, a Pd substituted bacteriochlorophyll and a modified photodynamic approach, successful tumor necrosis followed by boosting up of an anti-tumor immunity, has been shown in preclinical studies and already applied in Phase III clinical trials that have been recently accomplished in patients with localized prostate cancer. Superoxide, hydroxyl radical and peroxynitrite generation rather than singlet oxygen was shown to mediate tumor necrosis in an ischemia/reperfusion-like cascade of events. Non-covalent binding to serum albumin at intermediate binding affinity results in the drug confinement to the circulation and rapid clearance compared with other PDT reagents. Pre-clinical studies confirmed that WST11-VTP provokes systemic, anti-tumor immunity in multiple cancer indications when combined with application of immune checkpoint and Treg modulators. These results have provided the rational for new, four clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center focusing on triple negative breast cancer, advanced prostate cancer, esophageal cancer and cancer of the urinary tract.

Prof Laurence Pearl

Survival of major DNA damage such as the long segments of single-stranded DNA resulting from collapse of a replication fork, requires the assembly of a multiprotein complex that recognizes the damaged DNA and signals to the cell cycle machinery to halt cell division until the damage has been... Read more

Survival of major DNA damage such as the long segments of single-stranded DNA resulting from collapse of a replication fork, requires the assembly of a multiprotein complex that recognizes the damaged DNA and signals to the cell cycle machinery to halt cell division until the damage has been repaired. Failure in this response can result in aneuploid cell division and the genomic instability that is a common feature of cancer.
This DNA Damage Checkpoint apparatus involves recognition of the dsDNA-ssDNA transition by the 9-1-1 complex, coating of ssDNA with Replication Protein A, and coupling of these via the BRCT-domain scaffold protein TopBP1/Rad4. Together with a connection to modified chromatin via the damage mediator 53BP1/Crb2, this results in activation of the PI3-kinase-like kinase ATR, which in turn activates the effector kinase CHK1, arresting the cell cycle. We are working to understand the structural basis for the assembly of the DNA Damage Checkpoint apparatus, which is regulated by multiple post-translational modifications.

Join researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Cancer Research UK, and the Oxford based folk band “James Bell and the Half Moon All Stars” for an afterhours event under the dinosaurs as they mix eclectic experiences, storytelling, and music around the theme of “The Heart... Read more

Join researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Cancer Research UK, and the Oxford based folk band “James Bell and the Half Moon All Stars” for an afterhours event under the dinosaurs as they mix eclectic experiences, storytelling, and music around the theme of “The Heart and the Head”.
Researchers will be telling stories from their lives in science, with a live musical accompaniment - prepare to laugh, cringe, and sympathise as we find out what life can be like behind the lab bench. This unique event is not to be missed!
Part of Biology Week 2015

Professor Andrew Newby

Andrew Newby is British Heart Foundation Professor of Vascular Cell Biology. He graduated in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) from Cambridge and studied for a PhD with Professor CN Hales FRS. He then worked on adenylate cyclase with Nobel Laureate Martin Rodbell at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. ... Read more

Andrew Newby is British Heart Foundation Professor of Vascular Cell Biology. He graduated in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) from Cambridge and studied for a PhD with Professor CN Hales FRS. He then worked on adenylate cyclase with Nobel Laureate Martin Rodbell at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. Afterwards he held a Beit Memorial Fellowship in Cambridge where he elucidated the metabolic pathways responsible for production of the cardioprotective metabolite, adenosine. Subsequently, he was successively non-clinical lecturer, senior lecturer, reader and Professor in Cardiff. While continuing to work on adenosine, he contributed to the identification of the endothelium-derived relaxing factor as nitric oxide. He is most know however, for discovering a role for matrix degrading metalloproteinases in vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation in vein grafts, after angioplasty and in atherosclerosis. His elucidation of the inflammatory basis of metalloproteinase production is continuing to shed light on the role of inflammation in plaque rupture and myocardial infarction. He was one of the first vascular biologists to use of adenovirus-mediated gene transfer which he now combines with other post-genome technologies. This work has led to more than 170 peer-reviewed research papers and 30 reviews, which have collectively attracted 9000 citations (H>60). Prof Newby’s work was continuously supported by UK programme grants for the past 20 years. He was also co-director of the EC-funded European Vascular Genomics Network.
Prof Newby has served on grants committees of the major UK Research Councils and Charities and also reviewed grants for Belgian, Dutch, French, German and other overseas bodies. His Editorial Boards include Atherosclerosis, ATVB, Circulation Research and Cardiovascular Research.
Prof Newby has been an EAS member for many years and recently served on the Programme Committee for the Helsinki and Gothenburg congresses. He has more than 20 years involvement with the European Society of Cardiology, being a founder member and later Chair of the working group Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis, a member of the Congress Programme Committee and Chairman of the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science. He now dedicates himself to running the biennial ESC Summer Schools in Cardiovascular Biology. Perhaps most significantly he re-launched and was President of the European Vascular Biology Organisation from 2006-10.

Professor Scott Sternson

Weight loss leads to an intense motivation to seek and consume food. We are examining the contribution of hypothalamic neurons to homeostatic hunger. Optogenetic activation of hypothalamic AGRP neurons rapidly induces hunger in mice. The motivational properties of AGRP neuron activity as well as in... Read more

Weight loss leads to an intense motivation to seek and consume food. We are examining the contribution of hypothalamic neurons to homeostatic hunger. Optogenetic activation of hypothalamic AGRP neurons rapidly induces hunger in mice. The motivational properties of AGRP neuron activity as well as in vivo calcium dynamics indicate that these neurons influence hunger responses through a negative valence teaching signal. These studies reveal a key role for AGRP neurons in learning about food. Our findings are consistent with a neuronal basis for negative emotional attributes of weight loss diets.

Dr Tilly Mommersteeg

Whereas the human heart has no inherent ability to regenerate cardiac muscle after myocardial infarction, certain fish efficiently repair their hearts. Astyanax mexicanus, a close relative of the zebrafish, is a single fish species comprising cave-dwelling and surface river populations. Remarkably,... Read more

Whereas the human heart has no inherent ability to regenerate cardiac muscle after myocardial infarction, certain fish efficiently repair their hearts. Astyanax mexicanus, a close relative of the zebrafish, is a single fish species comprising cave-dwelling and surface river populations. Remarkably, while surface fish regenerate their heart after injury, cavefish cannot and form a permanent fibrotic scar, similar to humans. The difference in heart regeneration capacity within one species makes Astyanax mexicanus a unique and powerful model to link the ability for heart regeneration directly to the genome using Quantitative Trait Loci analysis. This allows us to study the most fundamental molecular mechanisms that are prerequisite to creating a cellular environment favouring heart regeneration over scarring. Preliminary results indicate that we will be able link the ability for heart regeneration directly to a small number of loci containing a limited number of genes.

Chelsea McMullen

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is an emerging zoonosis with dramatically increased incidence in forested regions of Central Africa in the past 30 years. It is considered the most important virus in the orthopoxvirus genus since the eradication of smallpox (variola), but causes milder clinical symptoms... Read more

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is an emerging zoonosis with dramatically increased incidence in forested regions of Central Africa in the past 30 years. It is considered the most important virus in the orthopoxvirus genus since the eradication of smallpox (variola), but causes milder clinical symptoms similar to chickenpox, caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV). There have been reports of the co-circulation of MPXV and VZV; however, a sustained outbreak of both viruses has never been confirmed. Here, we use data from a 2005-2007 active surveillance program for human MPX in Kasai Oriental province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to show that co-circulation has occurred in 9 health zones of the Sankuru District. The talk will present an overview of the study, the potential epidemiological significance of the findings, potential geographical factors involved in co-circulation, and the challenges researchers faced in the field.
About the speaker: Chelsea McMullen joined the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) in June as the Operational Support Officer. Before this, she completed a Master of Science in Global Health at Duke University, focusing on epidemiology of emerging zoonotic diseases and global health policy. She spent the second year of the programme doing fieldwork in DRC, studying interspecies transmission of respiratory viruses at Lola ya Bonobo primate sanctuary, and working on projects related to Ebola, schistosomiasis and HIV, vaccination coverage and monkeypox with the UCLA-DRC Research Group. Previously, she interned with WHO’s Global Malaria Programme as a Duke Global Health Fellow, and earned a BS in biology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she studied the pathogenesis of chordoma cancer.

Audience: Members of the University only

Organisers: Francois Van Loggerenberg

When arriving and leaving the building please use the marked pedestrian route, and not the road, due the building works.

Dr Peter Murray

ALL WELCOME
Peter Murray studies regulation of innate immune responses, with a particular focus on macrophage activation and deactivation because these cells are principally responsible for driving inflammation in many infections and other chronic and acute diseases. The innate immune response is... Read more

ALL WELCOME
Peter Murray studies regulation of innate immune responses, with a particular focus on macrophage activation and deactivation because these cells are principally responsible for driving inflammation in many infections and other chronic and acute diseases. The innate immune response is subject to an extraordinarily complex series of regulatory events to maximize anti-pathogen responses but also to constrain the deleterious effects of innate immune response-driven inflammation. Questions his group are addressing include: what are the origins and fates of the different immune cells before, during and after attempts to clear the insult; what are the signals in local microenvironments perpetuating inflammation; and what are the signals given and received by macrophages enabling the switches between resolving and non-resolving inflammation? Answering these questions will point to macrophage-dependent signaling pathways amenable to therapeutic intervention.

Dr Michela Noseda

Over the last twenty years, cardiac regeneration has progressed from an interesting but marginal area of cardiovascular biology to the vanguard of genetic, molecular and cellular biology, efficiently bridging findings to clinical trials. Great inspiration comes from the robust regeneration seen in... Read more

Over the last twenty years, cardiac regeneration has progressed from an interesting but marginal area of cardiovascular biology to the vanguard of genetic, molecular and cellular biology, efficiently bridging findings to clinical trials. Great inspiration comes from the robust regeneration seen in zebrafish and newborn mice and from highly sensitive methods that detect very low levels of regeneration. Thus, eliciting an effective reparative and regenerative response in the, otherwise largely dormant, adult heart has become plausible. In particular, major advances have been achieved with cardiac stem/progenitor cells, which can be harvested from adult heart tissue, expanded in vitro and delivered to the myocardium as a therapeutic product. Indeed, encouraging results from clinical trials demonstrate feasibility and safety. Nevertheless, to enhance the effectiveness of cell therapy on cardiac function, improvement of cell retention and cardiomyocyte differentiation is necessary, as well as a better understanding of the beneficial secretory paracrine effects. A valid alternative to cell therapy is to target the cardiac stem/progenitor cells in situ, in order to elicit directly their regenerative capacity from within the heart. However, to achieve these goals, we need to fill the gap of knowledge of the target cells. Indeed, in pre-clinical studies several types of cardiac progenitors were described although their (inter)-relationships remains unclear. Additionally, in clinical trials the most widely used product is an intentionally, but incompletely characterised, heterogeneous pool of cells. Here, I will discuss our single-cell level approaches to define and understand cardiac progenitors and attempt to address three crucial issues: define the heterogeneity of well-established adult cardiac Sca1+ progenitors; pinpoint the subset of cardiac progenitor cells with clonal growth; identify the combination of distinguishing markers that best demarcates a robust cardiogenic potential of heart derived progenitors. Taken together, the data lead to the identification of cardiac quiescent progenitor-like cells resembling a forme fruste of cardiac mesoderm.

Richard Jones

The talk focuses on unique chemical reactions that can be safely and conveniently done in flow equipment that cannot be safely done in batch reactors. Most chemists think of hydrogenations when they hear about flow chemistry; Richard covers Thales units designed to do all kinds of chemistry, far... Read more

The talk focuses on unique chemical reactions that can be safely and conveniently done in flow equipment that cannot be safely done in batch reactors. Most chemists think of hydrogenations when they hear about flow chemistry; Richard covers Thales units designed to do all kinds of chemistry, far beyond simple hydrogenations.
Richard Jones was appointed as the CEO of ThalesNano in April 2012. Before holding this position, he was responsible for product direction and user experience for the entire line of ThalesNano instruments. He joined ThalesNano in July of 2004 where he started as Chief Research Chemist, helping to develop the chemistry on the H-Cube® and other flow reactors. He then went on to become Product Manager of the R&D 100 Award winning H-Cube® before becoming Director of Product Management.
Prior to ThalesNano, Richard was at Biofocus Discovery and worked on the synthesis of several Kinase and GPCR inhibitor based compound libraries. Richard studied chemistry at the University of Bristol where he graduated with honors in 1999.

Prof. Søren Riis Paludan

ALL WELCOME
Søren Riis Paludan's laboratory focuses on how the immune system recognizes virus infections and how this leads to an immune response. They aim to improve understanding of how the immune system works and interacts with viruses, and how this impacts on the pathogenesis of viral... Read more

ALL WELCOME
Søren Riis Paludan's laboratory focuses on how the immune system recognizes virus infections and how this leads to an immune response. They aim to improve understanding of how the immune system works and interacts with viruses, and how this impacts on the pathogenesis of viral infections. Such work may lead to better understanding of viral diseases and could have implications for future development of improved vaccines, antiviral therapeutics, and diagnostic tools. The main areas of work focus on: mechanisms of viral detection by the innate immune system and viral means to evade these processes; interactions between the innate immune system and basic cellular processes, and the impact on host defense and development of disease; mechanisms of host defense in animal models for human diseases.

Prof Francesco Moscone

Professor Francesco Moscone is Director of the MBA programs and former head of the Centre of Research into Entrepreneurship, International Business in Emerging Markets. He has worked as health economist for the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children's Health, and the National Agency... Read more

Professor Francesco Moscone is Director of the MBA programs and former head of the Centre of Research into Entrepreneurship, International Business in Emerging Markets. He has worked as health economist for the National Collaborating Centre for Women and Children's Health, and the National Agency for Regional Health Services.
If anyone would like to meet with the speaker please contact Catia Nicodemo: catia.nicodemo@economics.ox.ac.uk
Sandwiches and coffee ea will be available.
Booking recommended for non NDPCHS staff.

Dr Elmi Muller

Dr Elmi Muller is a General Surgeon who has been working in the field of Transplantation since 2005. She has an active interest in promoting organ donation and transplantation and was the TTS councillor for the Middle East/Africa region between 2010 and 2014 and is currently the President of the... Read more

Dr Elmi Muller is a General Surgeon who has been working in the field of Transplantation since 2005. She has an active interest in promoting organ donation and transplantation and was the TTS councillor for the Middle East/Africa region between 2010 and 2014 and is currently the President of the Southern African Transplantation Society and on the executive council of TTS. Elmi has been involved in many transplant-related outreach and educational programmes for the public and medical profession in South Africa. She also does outreach work in Africa through the ISN Educational Ambassador’s programme.
In 2008 she initiated a Donation after Cardiac Death programme as well as a transplant programme for HIV positive patients utilizing HIV positive donors at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. She was featured in The Lancet in 2012 under the title: ‘Elmi Muller; bending rules, changing guidelines, making history.’ Her interest is in HIV transplantation and the immunological response of HIV positive recipients after they receive these transplants. She is also driving research projects to look at the impact of the second viral strain after receiving a kidney from a HIV positive donor.
Dr Muller has joined the Transplantation Research Immunology Group at the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences for just over three months, until early January 2016, having successfully secured a Newton International Exchange scheme award.